Ryan O.'s Profile

"Upscale" and "Chinese restaurant" don't often appear together, but with The Mandalay, it fits.

Located downtown on Alakea in the old Yong Sing location (everyone laments the loss of those trademark Chinese gates), The Mandalay is the creation of the culinary minds behind the old Eastern Garden.  But they've taken their good food and served it up in an impressive wrapper.  The striking, but not flashy, decor seems almost out of place, with the financial district just down the block and Chinatown a few bus stops away.

The draw is the dim sum, and the twist is this: rather than picking items from carts that rotate around the restaurant -- a system that sometimes leaves some diners stranded and some food items a little long in the tooth -- you mark your choices on a form that will give you SAT flashbacks.  You're aided with a nice photo sheet with pictures of each dim sum, for those (like most people) who are used to choosing with their eyes rather than their limited Chinese vocabulary.  Your choices are then prepared fresh in the kitchen and delivered to your table.

Frankly, dim sum is dim sum to me, but I'm told it's pretty good here.  Since it's made to order, I can see why it might be.

We visited their opening week, and decided to order off the menu.  Everything looked great, and what we had was delicious.  Dried scallop fried rice with egg whites, clams with black bean sauce, and peppersalt shrimp.  Those first two dishes made a particularly wonderful pair.

The Mandalay may also turn out to be a good spot for people watching.  Well over a handful of Honolulu's movers and shakers were spotted at nearby tables when we were there.

Apart from "upscale" service speeds (i.e. a little long for a typical downtown lunch), the only other downside are the slightly high prices.  You're paying for a great looking restaurant.  But if you want Chinese food but without "traditional" level of service and decor you'd get at a hole in the wall a few blocks away, The Mandalay is a great addition to the downtown dining scene.

Surrounded by other much-hyped pho restaurants, this second location of a popular Vietnamese eatery (the original is in the Pearl Kai Shopping Center) is, to me, a great Chinatown secret. Cuu-Long's pho is well regarded, but for some reason people would rather stand in line at a more "legendary" spot on the river than to come and relax at the only occasionally crowded and always comfortable Cuu-Long II on the corner.

The pho portions are generous (the "Super" bowl is just that), and the broth is just right.  Not at all oily, not too salty, flavored and seasoned just right.  The restaurant is open (no cramped clusters of tables) and clean and you can watch the many characters of Chinatown pass by outside.

A Mainland chain, sure, but one certainly welcome in a town that hungers for more (if not better) Italian options.  We went during their soft-opening, and again last week, and loved it.  Family friendly (a plus for us and our three kids), decent portions for a reasonable price.  The kitchen speed has been a bit uneven - main courses sometimes beat the salad or appetizers to your table - but the servers are sharp and friendly and no dishes were lacking in richness or flavor (I always end up taking almost half of my order home).

As with the opening of other major chains (notably the Cheesecake Factory in Waikiki), right now the line to get in can be long -- show up at 6 p.m. on a Friday, and you'll have to wait an hour or more.  But, at least with its location within Honolulu's retail Mecca, there's no shortage of things to browse to pass the time.  Presumably, in a few months, the lines will subside (especially as other new dining options open in Hookipa Terrace).

If you visit O'ahu, you have to visit the historic North Shore town of Haleiwa.  And if you visit Haleiwa, you have to get some shave ice.  The typical visitor will naturally gravitate toward M. Matsumoto's Store, which has been written up so many times, the line to get one of its cones can stretch down the street.  But my choice will always be Aoki's, just a few yards away.

Sure, Aoki's might seem like the Portland to Matsumoto's Seattle, the also-ran, the hanger-on.  But in addition to the practical benefit of having a (slightly) shorter line, it's no less a cozy, charming neighborhood store that happens to also excel in one of Hawaii's favorite icy treats.

There's no rocket science to shave ice, and I'd probably fail in a taste test between the two, but Aoki's shave ice is delicious, and my underdog preference.

Plopped in the middle of a commercial/industrial district, Nick's Cafe is a gem of an eatery that can satisfy both a trucker or a family with kids. Home-style cooking on a decently-sized American menu at reasonable prices. My favorite dish, and a popular draw of Nick's, is their french onion soup. For the price, it's a treat! The sandwiches are plain, like how mom used to make them, but the hot entrees are pretty good.

A tip? The chef is Thai, so if you want a bit of heat, you can ask for it.

A couple of downsides. Nick's is definitely a down-home diner, so expect nicked plates, bent silverware, the occasional dried food particle and sticky floors. Also, on at least one visit, the meat was noticably bad and had to be sent back. Order the 'high turnover' specials and you should be fine.

A nice haven tucked away off one of Honolulu's busiest intersections. Located across the street from the Hawaii Convention Center, Tapioca Express offers a lot more than tapioca.  Tasty plate lunches (we give both the boneless kal-bi and the mochiko chicken thumbs up), sandwiches, bubble tea and other drinks, a comfy couch (with cookbooks as reading material), a couple of Internet terminals and free-wifi advertised. Also apparently features an "open-mic night."  Friendly, cozy, a handful of tables inside and out, a fun find in this neighborhood.

Parking isn't a pain, by the by, as businesses in the building have 35 stalls reserved in a lot next door.  It's just a little hard to find.